ESCSS Self-Assessment Tool

Welcome to the Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) of the European Commission.

The SAT will help you conduct a first assessment of the investment readiness level in your region concerning sustainable chemical production. 'Sustainable chemical production' is the usage of alternative raw materials to produce chemical products. These alternative raw materials are different from traditional fossil-based ones. Specifically, the following 3 types of feedstock are considered:

Biomass from agriculture and forestry: this is mainly to be processed in high capital and energy intensive installations (e.g. integrated biorefineries).

Waste from farms, municipalities, sewage sludge, agri-food industry and paper & pulp industry: this feedstock is mainly to be processed in decentralised installations with a certain degree of industrial symbiosis.

Effluent gases, such as CO2 and CO: these gases are mainly to be processed in conglomerates (in a typical industrial symbiosis).

The SAT will carry out this first assessment of the current situation in your region through the following 8 key factors (KF):

Long term, stability and availability of feedstock

Infrastructure to handle feedstocks and production

Access to finance

Skilled workforce, technical expertise and training

Existence of support institutions

Strength and availability of regional markets

Entrepreneurship

Public support policies

The SAT consists of an online questionnaire for each type of feedstock. It amounts to approximately 60 to 70 questions (around 8 per key factor). Once you fill in the questionnaire, you will receive a spider diagram with your marks in each of the factors. The marks range from 0 to 10. They show in which areas your region is strong and which could use improvement. You can compare your average marks with those of other EU regions that have already used the tool. This will help clarify where your region stands in a European context. The SAT will also produce a document with the main conclusions and recommendations. This will help you interpret the spider diagram.